Recently, the former prime minister of
It is an interesting irony that a Pakistani president highlighted the urgency of Israeli-Palestinian peace, given that
As World War II ended, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the British Raj also came to an end. The British government, and the leaders in
While historians continue to debate on the true intentions of the various entities involved, the result was a two-state solution—
The creation of
Furthermore,
And then, of course, the unresolved tensions over Kashmir, with both India and Pakistan claiming the territory as their own. This territorial turf war continues on to this day, which almost triggered a nuclear-war in 1998.
The parallels with the Israeli-Palestinian tensions are not that dissimilar. A two-state solution is being proposed, but even now the Palestinian territories are in two separate geographic areas that are not contiguous—West Bank and the Gaza Strip—with Israel’s political boundaries in between the two. And, there are serious differences of opinions regarding Jerusalem—very similar to the Kashmir question.
Tensions between East and West Pakistan escalated after the two-state solution was implemented. However, in the Palestinian case, over the last couple of years Gaza and West Bank have been operating pretty much independent of each other, controlled and administered by political rivals—Hamas and Fatah.
A two-state solution did work, for instance, when the two countries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic were created out of Czechoslovakia. But, the geopolitics there did not have the kinds of political and personal intensity that characterizes the Indo-Pak situation, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Similarly, the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to the birthing of new countries, like Estonia, was to a large extent nothing but a reversal to roots—after all, Estonia was gobbled up by the Soviet Union that was intent on expanding its sphere of influence and, therefore, Estonia’s independence was not really a “two-state solution.”
A two-state solution has not delivered peace and prosperity for India and Pakistan, with disagreements and violence continuing on even after almost 62 years. I, therefore, worry that a two-state solution bringing about everlasting Israel-Palestinian peace might be wishful thinking. But, in the absence of any other option, here is to hoping that it will pave the path for stability and peace sooner than later.
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